This is a good Maine man. We have a saying in Maine that if somebody is pretty good, they are referred to as finest kind.

Every day I was reminded of what made our country the greatest in the world: the sacrifice of our warriors.

I have seen how data has been misused, particularly when you look at the wait time issues in the VA.

He is a man of true character.

I served on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and I am often reminded of President Lincoln's promise, 'To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.'

You have got to break down the silos that are currently out there, which is difficult at times to do.

I brought forward a plan to actually reorganize the whole Department.

Yes, sir, absolutely.

I think that is so important in a job like this one which is really about administration and about problem-solving and about getting things done on behalf of our veterans.

If the military spent as much time on out-placing our veterans as it does on recruiting them, the veterans' community would be better off.

Mike Michaud probably has as much experience in veterans' affairs issues as anyone in the Congress.

I think if you look at the strategic situation right now for the United States globally, that is a strategic mistake which, hopefully, we can reverse.

I think too often the media headlines level broad accusation against all VA employees, not just the ones who are--have bad performance issues.

The VA's goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015 is an ambitious goal.

A remarkable progress has been made by the VA to meet this challenge, but there is much more that still has to be done.

I am also concerned that we are not taking adequate steps to address special populations, such as homeless woman veterans.

I would like to present this to you as a parting gift for your friendship, your loyalty, but, more importantly, your work that you have done for veterans over a number of years, putting aside partisan politics to do what is right for our…

It is simply unacceptable that any of our veterans do not have a roof over their head.

Providing sufficient and effective mental health care to our veterans is an issue that I believe we must focus on. It is an issue that I hope will bring comprehensive policies in the next Congress. Finding real solutions will require all…

We have one more speaker, and I believe she is on her way. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

IT security is critical and we simply must do all that we can working together to ensure that veterans' personal information is protected.

I hope all of my colleagues here today will continue to fight to give VA those needed resources.

It is time that the VA address these issues quickly and effectively.

I am hopeful that these changes can expand to VA and Congress working together to address IT security issues.

I would encourage the secretary to quickly define detailed execution plans for these concepts and not get stuck in analysis and processes.